Dyson leads a 1-2 for CD Racing with Laguna Seca Trans Am win

Chris Dyson scored his first victory of the 2025 season after an intense battle with 2024 TA Champion Paul Menard in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Starting the race in the point position, Dyson was passed early by Menard, but never lagged far behind, ultimately taking back the lead on lap 24. Dyson and Menard engaged in an intense battle in the closing laps, but a late mistake by Menard was too much to overcome, allowing Dyson to drive his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang into GYM WEED Winners circle at the Mission Foods Laguna Seca SpeedTour. With teammate Adam Andretti finishing second, CD Racing claimed a 1-2 finish in the event.

Dyson started the race in the first position, but after the green flag waved, he engaged in a side-by-side battle with Menard’s No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang. Menard took the top spot in the first lap of green-flag racing, and proceeded to lead for more than 20 laps. However, Dyson was never far behind, running less than a second behind Menard. As the two fought through traffic, Dyson negated Menard’s advantage, and on lap 24, he made the pass for the lead. Dyson began to pull away from Menard, opening up a lead of more than a second, but a caution closed up the field on lap 31.

When racing resumed on lap 34, Menard made a hard charge for the lead, but Dyson closed the door on him and Menard spun, dropping back to 11th overall and sixth in class. Adam Andretti (No. 21 Top Liner Ford Mustang), who was also behind the wheel of a CD Racing car, took over second place following Menard’s mistake, having previously moved into the third position following a long battle with Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro). Once the two CD Racing cars were out front, there was no stopping them, and they cruised to a 1-2 finish, with Dyson taking the checkered flag and Andretti finishing second.

Menard didn’t give up, and he spent the final 10 laps of the race mounting a hard charge for the front. He passed Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) on lap 39, and by lap 42, he passed fourth-place Boris Said (No. 2 Weaver Concepts/Mobil 1 Dodge Challenger) who had made his own incredible comeback after starting the race last. Menard’s last challenge was Drissi, who fought him to the very end. Just a few yards ahead of the finish line, Menard was able to pass Drissi, claiming the third podium spot.

“This feels so good just being back here racing,” said Dyson in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “After Sebring, there was a real trip into the unknown for me. It was a long road to get back to this point. I’m just so grateful for my family and for my team and everybody on the whole squad for pulling me through some tough times. You have some doubt and you get a little bit afraid that you may not be able to get back to it. I’m really grateful that I pushed really hard to get my conditioning back up. These cars are physical to drive.

“Paul and I have had two great weekends of racing. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year and all the battles. Happy to have Adam here with Claudio Burton’s Top Liner program coming on board for this weekend. It’s a 1-2 finish for CD Racing, so I couldn’t be happier for that. And that GYM WEED car is back in GYM WEED Winners Circle. I’m really happy for these guys. They’ve worked really hard. We’re from New York and this is a long way to go. It’s hard to put into words, but I am so grateful and so thankful for everybody that got me here. This is a great place to race. This is one of the true gems of American racing here at Laguna Seca, and I’m thrilled that we’re back on the West Coast.”

Cole Moore in the No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang started first in the TA Cup class, but at the conclusion of the first green-flag lap, Ken Sutherland (No. 85 Kallberg Racing Dodge Challenger) emerged with the lead. For the first 31 laps of the event, Sutherland led Moore and Jim Guthrie in the No. 62 Guthrie’s Garage/CEI Ford Mustang, but following a lap-34 restart, Michelle Nagai (No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro) had a fantastic start, overtaking Moore, who fell back to third, and Guthrie, who moved into fourth. Guthrie made the pass on Nagai on lap 36, while Moore continued to fight for a podium spot. Unfortunately, Moore went off the track on the white-flag lap, putting an end to his efforts. Sutherland crossed the finish line to take his first-career TA Cup victory, and was followed by Guthrie and Nagai. Moore’s father John Moore (No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang) finished in the fourth position, and Moore was ultimately scored in fifth.

“You know, I went into this race saying I was just going to have some fun and that I didn’t care about the result, and I didn’t know it was going to be this much fun,” said Sutherland. “The car was so freaking awesome. I’m so happy for our team and our group of people that make that car go: Jefferson Racing and Chris Evans Race Cars, Jerry Pitts, Kurt and Patty Kallberg, my wife and daughter who have helped me, and my friend Will Shrader, who’s there spotting for me. Great day. Thank you to Trans Am for a great race, and everybody who came out and watched. This was awesome.”

As the only SGT competitor in the National Championship, Joshua Carlson was victorious in his No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang.

“This was fun,” said Carlson on the podium. “We didn’t have the car dialed in how I wanted it to be, but I was just trying to stay out of the TA Cup guys’ race; they were racing really hard. I had a lot of fun out there. I really want to thank my dad and my grandpa for hauling me out here so I can race, and I want to thank my sponsors Enseva, TC Fab, and Diercks Ltd. I wouldn’t be racing without them. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

In the Western Championship, JD Koos in the No. 12 Nicole Douglas Design Porsche GT3 Cup 991.1 led from start to finish, but it was not without competition from Rudy Revak in the No. 7 XYNGULAR Pontiac Grand Prix. The two ran nose to tail for nearly the entire race, with Revak making a pass for the lead on lap 31. However, he went off the track while making the move, and ultimately lost control of the car in the corkscrew, taking him out of contention. Koos went on to take the checkered flag for the second time this season.

“That race was good; that was the most green-flag laps I’ve had in a Trans Am race, so I think I need to work on my conditioning,” joked Koos from the podium. “That was pretty amazing. I was just happy to be able to hang with those guys a little bit and watch the lines of some of the more experienced TA guys. Hopefully, I stayed out of the way. Those guys have a lot more power than me, but it was really fun just hitting those braking zones. Rudy was behind me in that Pontiac, and he had a really good race. In fact, he passed me going into the kink right before Rahal Straight, and then he went off there, and I think he got dirt on his tires. He came back on because I saw him in the rearview mirror, but that’s why he went off in the corkscrew. I actually got to truly race that guy, and he did a great job pushing me, and apparently, I guess I was pushing him too. So, super happy about that.”

Chris Coffey (No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4) started the race first in class and was in pursuit of his fourth-consecutive win of the season. Unfortunately, he faced a mechanical issue which forced his retirement after seven laps, putting an end to his win streak. His teammate Colin Cohen in the No. 38 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 took over the lead in the class, but a crash into the tire barrier on lap 27 ended his day prematurely. Despite that, his efforts earned him his first-career victory in the GT class.

An encore presentation of Sunday’s race will air Sunday night on SPEED SPORT 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series will next hit the track at Lime Rock Park, May 23-26, for the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic at the Lime Rock SpeedTour.

RESULTS